News

Fifty-one per cent of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) expect to grow over the next twelve months, according to the SME Finance Monitor.

This is the highest proportion since the survey began in 2011 and is up from 48 per cent in the previous quarter.

The research also found that 44 per cent surveyed in the second quarter said they had grown in the past year, up from 39 per cent in the first quarter of the year.

The number of businesses citing the economic climate as a barrier to running a business has been dropping each quarter and has fallen to its lowest level yet.

The study, carried out by BDRC Continental, found that 44 per cent of the 5,000 SMEs surveyed had accessed external finance in the second quarter, compared to 39 per cent in the previous quarter. The variety of financing sources has also widened as the use of basic bank products such as loans, overdrafts and credit cards remained flat.

The survey revealed that confidence in accessing finance from banks is lacking. Despite 91 per cent of renewal requests being accepted by banks, only 38 per cent of businesses felt confident about future applications.

For new finance requests, only a quarter of business felt confident of being accepted, despite 50 per cent of applications succeeding.

The SME Finance Monitor was commissioned by the Business Finance Taskforce, which was set up by the UK’s six largest banks with the aim of improving customer relationships, ensuring better access to finance and providing better information and promoting understanding.